Live EFL Action Kicks Off Friday Night

Sky Sports has strengthened its coverage of the Sky Bet English Football League with the addition of Kelly Cates, who will host live Saturday evening matches from this season.

The schedule over the first four weeks features both Newcastle United and Aston Villa live on the opening weekend of the season as well as matches featuring Leeds United, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and newly promoted Burton Albion. Kelly will present this brand new set of live matches which kick off at 5.30pm opening with Norwich City hosting Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 13 August.

An accomplished broadcaster, Kelly began her career on Sky Sports News in 1998 before moving on to BBC Radio 5Live's 606 show and more recently presenting highlights coverage of the Football League on Channel 5.

Kelly will present alongside Ian Holloway and she joins a team of EFL experts and analysts that includes Scott Minto, Don Goodman and Peter Beagrie to cover the 127 matches from across the three leagues available to Sky Sports viewers.

I'm joining a great team and I can't wait to start." Speaking about her new role, Kelly Cates said: "I'm so excited about coming back to Sky Sports and presenting live matches on Saturday evenings. The EFL is more competitive than ever, and there will be great stories for us to bring to viewers throughout the season.

Kelly joins Scott Minto who will present matches scheduled for broadcast on Fridays and Sundays, as well as the Playoffs and Finals from Wembley, and Simon Thomas who will present coverage of the EFL Cup.

Alongside Scott and the team, she will guide viewers through what is certain to be another dramatic and memorable season." Gary Hughes, Head of Football at Sky Sports, added: "Kelly is a highly respected presenter who will strengthen our EFL coverage even further.

Sky Sports customers can look forward to more football than ever before this season, with over 700 games, including 126 from the Premier League, 127 matches from the Sky Bet EFL, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. Also available is SPFL football including every Old Firm derby, as well as hundreds of matches from Spain's La Liga, the Copa del Rey Final, the William Hill Scottish Cup, the Eredivisie, Chinese Super League and MLS. Sky Sports will also show exclusively live coverage of the qualification matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as well as highlights of England's matches.